Hart River Canoe Adventure: The Hart is right at the top of the list of Yukon's finest wilderness paddling rivers.  It is wild, remote and inspiring.  It is one of the best yet it is lesser known and lesser traveled than the other major eastern Peel River Tributaries.  (Wind, Snake, Bonnet Plume).  This is surprising because it offers incredible variety and inspiration in both paddling and scenery. (visit the Wanapitei CANOE facebook page for more photo's of this trip).  It is easily the equal to it's better known sisters in all aspects.  You'll paddle from a very small meandering creek at the headwaters through wider braided sections of fast flowing river and on into canyon country with awe inspiring peaks.  Rapids are mostly class I and II but there are a number of larger sets in some short sections of the Hart and in the last 18km of the trip on the Peel River.  Ours will be a moderately paced trip.  We will have some full days, some relaxing days and we've also planned a couple of layover days to hike (or simply sit and enjoy the sites) along the way.

The Gwich'in name for the Hart is Edriinjik, meaning "Heart River" ...

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Hart River Canoe Adventure: The Hart is right at the top of the list of Yukon's finest wilderness paddling rivers.  It is wild, remote and inspiring.  It is one of the best yet it is lesser known and lesser traveled than the other major eastern Peel River Tributaries.  (Wind, Snake, Bonnet Plume).  This is surprising because it offers incredible variety and inspiration in both paddling and scenery. (visit the Wanapitei CANOE facebook page for more photo's of this trip).  It is easily the equal to it's better known sisters in all aspects.  You'll paddle from a very small meandering creek at the headwaters through wider braided sections of fast flowing river and on into canyon country with awe inspiring peaks.  Rapids are mostly class I and II but there are a number of larger sets in some short sections of the Hart and in the last 18km of the trip on the Peel River.  Ours will be a moderately paced trip.  We will have some full days, some relaxing days and we've also planned a couple of layover days to hike (or simply sit and enjoy the sites) along the way.

The Gwich'in name for the Hart is Edriinjik, meaning "Heart River" named after a heart shaped mountain in the middle section of the river near Michelle Ck.  Other sources say it is named after Howard Hard a prospector who found gold on the Forty Mile River in 1886, (although he appears never to have been in the Hart River area).  The total distance of the trip is about 294km from Elliot Lake off the upper Hart to the Canyon Ck take out on the Peel River.  We will fly in and out of our trip by Bush Plane from Mayo.  We'll be driven to and from Mayo by van from Whitehorse, the trip meeting location.

Meeting & Exit Location:  Whitehorse, Yk

Meeting Date:  Recommended evening of July 4:  (note you must be in Whitehorse by mid day on the 6^th at the very very latest as we shuttle that afternoon, we do not recommend this in case of lost baggage), Return Home July 21 mid day (or later).

Logistics:        July. 5, Shuttle from Whitehorse to Mayo in the afternoon.

                        July 6 , fly via bush plane to Elliot Lake (Hart River) (first flight is 7am)

                        July 6-19 on Trip

                        July 19:  Fly out from Peel to Mayo, Camping at Mayo

                        July 20:  Return Driver from Mayo,

July 21, you can book your flights home for the afternoon.

Accommodations:   You need to book your own accommodation in Whitehorse for July. 4th & 20th.

Hart River Suggested Itinerary:

(note:  This is a suggested itinerary only, specifics will vary greatly with each trip)

Aug. 4:  Recommended Arrival in Whitehorse, evening get together.

Aug 5:  Am:  Free morning in Whitehorse

Pm:  The whole group will meet up mid afternoon on Aug.6 (we strongly urge you to arrive a day early in case of lost luggage and to enjoy the sights fin the Whitehorse area).  Once everyone has arrived we will depart Whitehorse for the 6hr evening drive to Mayo.  The drive is breathtaking in it's own right. 5hrs.

Day 1 (July 6);  After breakfast we'll board our charter aircraft and take the short (40min) bush plane flight into Elliot Lake in the upper reaches of the Hart River.  If flights proceed as planned we will load up and start off down Elliot Creek for a half day.  The creek is small and will involve some wading and lifting over beaver dams.

Day 2:  We'll continue the descent of Elliot Ck (23km in total).  Depending on water level and conditions (weather, log jams, beaver dams) the Elliot Ck descent can be relatively benign paddling with some small rapids to somewhat of a slog wading through Shallows..  We hope that the water is in our favour!  Our plan is to push right through and make it to the Hart by the end of Day 2.

Day 3:  We've planned a layover day to relax and enjoy the scenery after the intial hard work of Elliot Ck.  (If conditions or group desire dictates this could be taken at another time on trip or used up by spending 2 nights on Elliot Ck)

Day 4:  Our first day on the Hart is a relatively easy one.  The current is gentle at first and gradually becomes faster.  Soon it will be whisking us a long at a rapid pace.  We should make good distance with minimal effort, easily traveling 30km or so.

Day 5-6:  This our second and third day on the Hart proper will be ones of great fun and fast paddling.  Early in the day we'll encounter several bouldery class 2 rapids followed by a heavily braided section approaching the Taiga Valley and the Taiga Mountain Ranges at the West Hart River. There is strong current with continuous swifts and Class 1 rapids all through.  We'll spend two days floating along in this section enjoying the stunning mountain scenery, with high cliffs, and one beautiful canyon.  We'll likely put in 80 to 90km between the two days with little effort.

Day 7:  R&R/Hike Day, Mt Netro.  For those wishing a climb there is excellent ridge hiking in this areas once you make the effort (2-3hrs) to climb up.

Day 8:  We'll continue our paddling and floating through the Tiaga Ranges.  Paddling another 40km to the area of Mount Bruno

Day 9:  R&R/Hike Day, Mt. Bruno area

Day 10-11:  Mount Bruno to Peel River.(77km)  We'll go slowly in this section as this is where the bulk of the Hart's Rapids occur.  There are about 11 sets in total.  7 are class 2 and the remaining 4; depending on water levels can be class 2+.  Most rapids are caused by ledges but chutes and breaks provide ways through. (A day off may also be possible in this section).  The final 15km to the Peel contain no rapids of significance.

Day 12-13:  Peel River Confluence to Canyon Ck, (The final 18km on the Peel).  This final section of the river, while out of the Mountains is in some ways the finale to the trip.  The Peel rapids with it's larger volume are more powerful and we treat them with care.  There will be some fun whitewater paddling but also likely some lining and some lift-overs or short portages for the bigger sets.

Day 14: (July 19) Flight out from Canyon Ck(am) to Mayo

July 20:  return drive to Whitehorse(pm).

July 21:  Flights home:  Flights home can be booked for mid day on August 23.

(Some people prefer to book flights home the next day, Aug. 24, to make the return more relaxed).